


and the sixth is when you admit

by wewouldremembertonight



Category: RWBY
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 20:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2595245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wewouldremembertonight/pseuds/wewouldremembertonight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six sentence drabbles for RWBY, showcasing various ships.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. not all goodbyes are final

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam Taurus/Blake Belladonna

blake stared up at where, just a moment ago, she'd seen a flash of red, and a wilting rose on black.

she didn't want to hope - they didn't have time for that - but she'd _seen_ it. the last memory she had of him made her heart lurch and constrict; her last words to him an apology and a decision.

he had reached out, and it had taken everything within her to not reach back, no matter how hard she'd wanted to. the finality had hurt her, as much as it would've hurt him, she was sure of that.

but that brief moment she had seen him, made her lips curl into a ghost of a smile - she would see adam again soon.


	2. maybe i like you after all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss Schnee/Neptune Vasilias

she liked him.

she did really like him; liked him more than the crisp, upperclass suitors her father entertained throughout various times of her life, because of her name (and one that she made sure she lived up to).

sure, he was a little awkward much like jaune, and he was friends with sun, but he had a charming sort of devil-may-care attitude. she supposed it was because she was the  _ice queen_ \- snow angel, he called her - and she was certainly not supposed to be carefree. but maybe, she mellowed down slightly when she was around, maybe he made her act a little different.

and she liked him for that as well.

 


	3. know you're my saving grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pyrrha Nikos/Jaune Arc

one day, she will tell him how she feels; the same way that she told him to tell weiss how he really feels: simple, true and uncomplicated.

but it's really complicated when you're in love with someone, who is in love with someone else, who likes someone else.

it's all very complicated, but one thing is for sure, her feelings aren't. she knows how she feels about him. and one day, she will practice what she preaches.

just not yet.


	4. you've fallen in love in the worst way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pyrrha Nikos/Adam Taurus

he didn't know what she saw in him.

he was a beast, a monster, and a killer; with the blood of innocents on his hands in the name of power, justice, and freedom. and yet, she found something redeemable in him, a light in his heartless body, that was different to the darkness of the creatures the white fang tried to be like, that _he_ tried to be like.

the mask was merely a mask, she said, it wasn't him; the mask didn't define him. and so, she wasn't afraid of him, despite how hard he tried to push her away.

she could've had everything, anyone, but she had him: she chose _him_ , she chose to stay.


	5. the kind of eyes that drive wolves mad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby Rose/Roman Torchwick

ruby felt awkward sitting on the barstool alone, taking small sips at the orange cocktail in her hand, trying to look for any sign of yang. her sister said she had business to here, said business that required her to leave her 18 year old sister - in a short red minidress that she forced here to wear, mind you - in the middle of a very crowded club.

her eyes searched for any glimpse of her telltale blonde hair before she gave up, resigning to staring at the bar counter; fingers tapping out to the beat of the dance song pounding in her ears. her silver eyes did lift, however, when she saw someone slide into the seat next to hers; an unfamiliar yet handsome young man, with bright orange hair, and just as bright green eyes - flashy, and probably rich, considering his pressed white attire (that was definitely out of place in this club).

her body warmed when those green eyes raked slowly over her body, consuming every piece of her.

"hello, red," the man greeted ruby with a cocky little smile, as he waved at the bartender, before returning his attention back to her, his body leaning against the countertop, "what brings a pretty little girl like you to a place like this?"


	6. you know you never fight fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lie Ren/Weiss Schnee

ren suddenly strode up to her, without warning, and pinned her against the wall, a warm feeling crawling up her spine as she stared increduously up at him. weiss studied him; half impatient, half deer-trapped-in-headlights as his pink eyes met her blue.

"what?!" she hissed, and he brought up his other hand up to her face, hand cupping her chin, thumb stroking across her bottom lip. she'd be lying, though she'd never admit this, if she said she hadn't let out a gasp. ren seemed lost in the action, just kept doing it, until he huffed, and stepped away, his warm touch fading from her skin.

"you're not getting away that easy." she muttered, as weiss grabbed his arm, turning him back to her, and wrapped her other arm around his neck, bringing their lips together.


	7. cause you're a sky full of stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pyrrha Nikos/Lie Ren

the both of them stared up at the night sky on the balcony, side by side.

"you and nora are like fire and nice," pyrrha comments, looking at him with a fond look and he nods; he's heard it a million times before. "you are complete opposites, but i guess opposites attract." she adds with a giggle, and he realises he likes her like this. her laughs and smiles suite her as much as her confidence and skill in battle does.

"i would say we're more like thunder and lightning instead," he says, and she gives him a curious look, "i'm fast and deadly, and nora's loud but a force to be reckoned with." ren ends with a laugh, and pyrrha laughs too; before her hand reaches out to rest on his arm, a soft smile on her face.

"what about us?"


	8. may i have this dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora Valkyrie/Jaune Arc

jaune wasn't surprised when nora suggested that they'd dance together. they were on the same team - and he /liked/ nora, even if she was bit too bubbly for his tastes at times. ren seemed to easily give up his friend; probably grateful for a much-needed break from her antics.

a slow tune began to play as he led her down onto the dancefloor, and they quickly took position. nora's head rested against his chest, and jaune smelled a wild mixture cedarwood and lemon, much like her. his arms wrapped around her waist easily, and he didn't mind that at all.

he also didn't mind dancing with her, long after the song ended.


	9. in the darkest shadows our desires show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam Taurus/Blake Belladonna

adam pressed his mouth hungrily against hers, his arms wrapping tight around her waist as he revelled in the feeling; her lithe body pressed against his, always making him feel completed. blake seemed to feel that way too, her fingers digging into his arms, responding back with just as much passion, confirming his suspicions.

his _darling_  still loved him, even if that love could only be expressed in the shadows of an abandoned alleyway.

he took comfort in that fact, and in the way she shivered against him, a response that he had never seen her have with anybody else. he knew in a few moments that he would have to let her go, back to her damn team, and that faunus boy, but he took pleasure in the fact that she was still his.

blake would always be his, the beauty to his beast; and then he pulled himself away, his mask back in place, and left without so much as a goodbye (and adam had always hated goodbyes, especially when it came to her).


	10. you're a cherry blossom, you're about to bloom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pyrrha Nikos/Jaune Arc

pyrrha stared in awe at the falling petals that filled the air, reaching out a hand to feel the soft brush of one against her skin; a delicate, melding shade of pink and red - it was the kind of beauty that reminded her of mistral, of home.

"jaune, it's beautiful! how did you find a place like this?"

"one of my sisters took her girlfriend here, and i always wanted share this experience with someone special... i-i was hoping to take weiss here."

it was nice to share beautiful things with the people that you care about, and she appreciated the touching sentiment, even if it was an afterthought.

"well, i'm thankful that you wanted to share this with me, even if i'm not weiss; it's very sweet of you."

jaune grinned at her, one that lit up his whole face, so it was far too easy to smile back, even though her words made her heart ache with longing. 


	11. you're just a ghost in my head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss Schnee/White Fang Lieutenant

weiss dreams about the battle every night after the breach; her every waking moment haunted by the roar of a chainsaw, or his deep, taunting voice. she changes her tactics every single time when fighting the lieutenant, but the outcome always remains the same.

the bitter taste of defeat lingers long after the dreams, but she can't understand what she is doing wrong, how can she fail /every single time/?

then one night, there is a distinct difference when they meet again. his mask is off, revealing a hard, sharp lined face covered in tattoos and blood, yet it makes things worse.

he looks almost _normal_  like the rest of them, even with his chainsaw in hand, but his eyes are filled with no emotion, black pools of emptiness, like staring into an abyss.


	12. it's me and you against the world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dove Bronzewing/Velvet Scarletina

dove was angry, at first, but then he realized: he didn't _care_ about his leader's opinions on his dating life. if he chose to date a faunus - to date velvet - then cardin couldn't do jackshit about it.

and he had to admit, standing up for velvet and himself to cardin in front of everyone felt _great_. he wasn't gonna let him bully him out of dating someone he genuinely liked.

so when the pair walked hand in hand, past cardin, it was a victory in itself. a step towards proving all those haters wrong in their school, and a step towards dove becoming a better man.


	13. remember that you have to die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam Taurus/Blake Belladonna

the cool metal of her blade in her hand comforted blake as she gripped it tightly, her shadowy form basking in the moonlight, moving towards adam's sleeping body, his breathing even and slow; seemingly unaware of her conflicted intentions, or even the threat she posed towards the white fang's greatest soldier.

it was her duty to kill, to kill the man that threatened to harm the ones she loved, but hadn't she loved him as well? - he had been her best friend, her confidante, her mentor, her partner and the love of her life - and she had seen the gentleness he could wield, alongside the ruthlessness he let himself be consumed by; she had seen both the man and the beast.

even when she pressed gambol shroud against his throat, she hesitated, and even more so when his hard voice said "do it.", as if he could care less about his own life (but shouldn't it make it easier for her then, to do it for ruby, and weiss, and yang, and so many other innocents, to kill him in this very room?)

but then, he opened his eyes and it's her downfall, because blake knew those eyes, even in her dreams; her body shook as he persisted, "everyone dies, blake," and adam grasped her shoulders, commanding her in such a low voice, " _do it._ "

"you've killed so many people, and you'll kill so many more..." blake whispered, trying to reason more to herself than to him, as he stared back at her and just agreed.

but her hand didn't move, before adam finally flipped her over, pressing her back against the sheets, and he kissed her, and it was far too easy to settle back into familiarity, into how even now they fitted together like two halves of a whole; gambol shroud slipped out of her hand, clattering to the floor, and she lost herself in him once again.


	14. or just maybe you're my achilles heel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury Black/Pyrrha Nikos

mercury was an arrogant young man, cocky and distastefully dramatic, but pyrrha believed that it was merely all a front. in the moments where they talked, he was flirty, treating it like a game; but then she would say something, or do something, that made those silver eyes widen ever so slightly, and his smirks turn a touch more sincere, as if he enjoyed it when she surprised him.

his voice would get this lilt at times, replacing the forced, harsh huskiness, and it would make feel warm, a giddiness that made talking to him easier, lighter, and she liked that.

she liked into when his lips would curl into one of those small sinceres, and when his shoulders semed unburdened; the way he told her that emerald pissed the hell out of him, but he still cared for her because they're partners, that he was worried about fighting in the vytal festival tournament, or when he confessed his father was an alcoholic.

pyrrha always noticed the little things when it came to a person, it's a skill she's developed over the years, because it's not only useful in combat, but in life as well. to her, what really told you about someone was the finer details; it gave them life, and well, pyrrha wanted to be apart of mercury's life as much as she could, as much as she wanted him to be apart of hers too.


	15. the witching hour is the time of the wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee

a young wolf and a cold-blood witch met one day in the deep, emerald green forest; both searching, /hunting/, for prey as blood dripped from the wolf's maw, and the witch carelessly tossed hearts onto the duff; their paths merging much like little red riding hood met with the big bad wolf.

but neither of them were the victims, instead both of them were the predators: destroying and crushing all whom crossed their path with bite and ice.

instead of killing each other, they recognized they could be of mutual use: there was a beauty in the wolf's wildness, and a strength in the witch's elegance, and so they joined together. a witch and a wolf, neither each others' yet known to others as one; a clash of fangs and steel, iron running in both of their veins.

they killed together, killing each and every single one of their foes who dared to raise a hand or rise up against them. and so, two dangerous killers, a young wolf and a cold-blooded witch, became one.

 


	16. why are we worlds apart?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neptune Vasilias/Raven Branwen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspired by [this](http://bamonvamppancakes.tumblr.com/post/123793625012/let-the-only-sound-be-the-overflow)

every night since the breach, neptune would dream about an unknown woman, with raven black hair outside in beacon academy's courtyard; a grimm-like mask hiding her face, and the sound of quiet tinkling bells filling up the silence, as they just stared at each other.

he didn't know why, but he felt something: a sense of a forgotten memory, distanced by time and galaxies, no longer remembered with precision; she's more like a sound, or a vibration he could feel - like an _echo_.

nothing would happen, they just would stand there for a long time, before she would tilt her head back, and say through the bone, "you won't survive till the end."

it was the way she said it, rough yet not unkindly, that had him shivering that had nothing to do with the gentle breeze. it was like she /knew/, even if she was a figment of this starry dream; like what she was saying was a warning, an omen, but then she would just stare back, this raven-haired woman, and then vanished into thin air, melding out of existence.

every night he would have this dream, and then he would wake up; carrying on with his life, pretending during the day like nothing had ever happened; until night came, and sleep beckoned with such temptation that he would succumb, and repeat.


	17. and the memories i never can escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam Taurus/Blake Belladonna

she had been fourteen, blake recalled, when adam had given her the blakc ribbon she always wore - to hide her ears - after a long training session, during a much needed break; of how his lips curled into a smirk, like they always did, and he tied the ribbon himself, and patted her on the head when his work was done.

"happy now, blake?" was his words, deep, low rumbling in his chest; in a way that made warmth curl in her stomach, gave her a giddy rush, and had her cheeks flushing in pleasure, whilst amusement tinged his tone, even if there was feigned aannoyance in there as well.

it was a happier time, and back then, he had been the man she'd fallen in love with; when they both fought for the white fang (and for their brothers and sisters who could not), but in the end, really, all they ever had needed was each other to be happy, whatever the case may be.

blake had looked back at him, craning her neck to meet his eyes, and gave him a large, wide smile, in both surprise and delight at the gift, before wrapping her arms around his waist - her small body dwarfed by his - and he embraced her back, even if he had grumbled and feigned reluctance to do so.

but, blake reminded herself, it was just a memory, long gone and in the past; adam was no longer here to give her gifts, or tough love, or even here to be the sword at her side, always having her back; the one person in her life, once, who could she always rely on without a shadow of a doubt.

(still, she reaches up and touches the ribbon covering her ears; and although it was neither as large nor as wide, her lips curl into a smile.)


	18. for when the darkness comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam Taurus/Weiss Schnee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Heather :)

out of all the people who could possibly bring him back from the brink, who could see both the man and the beast, who could draw him out of darkness, he had always thought it would be blake; because she was the shadow at his side, the one person who had persisted to believe in him (and then not), it had just always been her.

but it had not been her, and against all his expectations and reasons, it had been _weiss schnee_  in the end.

he had fallen in love with the heiress, out of all the people, and worst of all, she was supposed to be his enemy; one he has supposed to kill, in cold blood, for their cause (and maybe, just maybe, out of spite for having taken blake from him), but even he, adam taurus, had flaws, and she had become his most fatal weakness.

adam was made to kill, but instead, he saved a life; and that how it started, you see, in a decrepit train carriage, to finish what bane had started, except he started something that neither of them could've ever prepared for, their mutual hatred transforming into something more, toying between the fine line between love and hate.

it had been her, in the end, who saved him from his own self-destruction; from the degradation that blake had long saw coming, and had left him for; to fester, to rot, and weiss had salvaged what was left, and kissed him; and kissing her, adam thought, well-

it tasted like _salvation_.

 


	19. you've become my everything, become my home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neopolitan/Jaune Arc

that's the thing about a home: it's become her everything, and even when she closes her eyes, and breathes in, neo can still feel it; it's as much of a certainly as the way she moves her body, it's second nature for her; an attachment she can't help but now, no longer wants to pull away from.

roman had approved of the interest at first, because he _knows_  her, used to her using a boy for just her own cruel amusement; to toy and play around with, because that's simply how she is - and then suddenly, one day, she woke up and her first thought was that boy with blue eyes, and how she wanted to be where he was that second.

it was without warning, the wild realisation that winded her, because she's not like that, never have been and never _will_  be.

yet, he home was no longer by roman's side; no longer bound by loyalty, no longer his equal in everything they did, because of their mutual interest in creating misery, in her pleasure in making it.

home is what pleases her now; his yellow hair like spun sunlight, and his soft, warm voice, and the sensation of his lips on hers, inexperienced but eager, and how inexplicably right his skin felt against hers.

for neo, home is not a place or a location; home is a person, home is _him_.


	20. and the thunder and the lightning consume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam Taurus/Weiss Schnee

the taste of sharp, bitter metal is smeared on her tongue, her lips, but she still reaches out a hand towards him; a plea, expressing words that can no longer be said, and she knows he understands: their language of desperation and finalties, of what could've beens and almosts.

he savours the contact of her skin, of warmth that is slowly fading from his grasp, from his senses, and so he closes his eyes to imprint the memory of it; wading through the crashes and waves of her that he can just feel, and it's a struggle against the tides, of all that she is, to just hold on.

if _this_  is what being a saviour felt like, if this is indeed salvation, then weiss did not want it; she rejected the notion entirely, because this, this was not saving; this was dying, this was murder, no matter how justified it was, and she's trembling, crying, the fracturing of a lake's icy surface, in front of her teammates, but in her mind there's no one but her and him.

(she feels like the shattered moon that hangs above them, silvery in the night sky, and wonders if it shook when it broke apart, as her heart is right now.)

now, it's slipping from his reach - her touch, her sadness - and everything he is feeling is slowly starting to drain away, like the crimson seeping, bleeding out on the snow, onto her hands; darkness is falling around him, consuming his vision, as sobs rip from her body, and her tears hit his body.

and like that, adam dies.


	21. kicking myself just trying to be understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emerald Sustrai/Mercury Black

they worked in synchronicity, perfectly oiled gears in a machine; one soul inhabiting two bodies, with her dark skin complimenting his fair, both blood thirsty, both on a hunt, completely in sync when in combat.

but only ever in combat were they ever like that; because who, really, could say that emerald and mercury could ever agree on anything, for they were opposite as one could get: him silver tongued and sly while she fiery-tempered and sharp; yet, as they exchanged barbs, it was always evenly traded, for they knew each other all too well to ever truly hurt each other.

after all, they were stuck together, despite the odds, and were loyal to the same woman with different demonstrations: the girl with red eyes so overtly devoted to the point of being lovesick, and the silver-haired boy laid back with his worship, all smirks and carefully placed flirtations; lest he, of course, incur the warth and taste of flames from their goddess, for pyrolatry was a wicked thing to revere, and so easy it was to get burned.

and yet, however, did these two consider each other, a sharpened jewel and a fleet-flooted hermes, you may ask?

they gave each other devotion, to be sure, how else could they fight so well as if they were extentions of each other's bodies; as if his limbs were hers and her mind was his, you only had to look in the dark to see it.

their worshipping, you see, occurs with sharp teeth breaking skin, and tongues raking over flesh; deft fingers bringing the other to several heights, with patience, and passion - that was their secret.


	22. tell you all about it when i see you again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang Xiao Long & Summer Rose

"hi mom!"

yang sat crosslegged in front of the gravestone, casual, as if she's done this a million times, as if she's been visiting her all the time; and with a toss of blonde hair, hair that had been brushed every night and every morning by the same person whose name was etched into the stone. and shakily, she smiled, as if reassuring summer that everything was alright.

she had felt _unworthy_ , guilty, because how the hell could she hate the woman who raised her, who would stay up till midnight baking cookies with her; whom she took so many from that ruby deserved more than she did, and yet she sort of did hate her; because it had all been a lie, her entire life had been a lie, but she doesn't want to hate her, but she hated that it was a lie; yet it was true that she loved summer, and still loves her so much.

and sitting here, with the ruffling the trees and her hair, she no longer feel like she's degrading or disrespecting her memory by finding out the truth; she isn't ruining all the happy memoriess she has with her, because no matter what, she was still her mom, and always would be.

"we have a lot of catching up to do," yang said, stretching her arms, "let's start at beacon."


	23. she's fallen too far with salt in her scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long

she ran away.

after all they've been through, when yang need her best friend the most - blake abandoned her. and that's the salt on the wound that he left, one she can't ever get back; because everything they've ever known is destroyed, her life is destroy and...

why do the people she loves keep leaving her?

it was unfair, everything in her life was unfair, and maybe that's why she cries, and cries, until all the tears have left her body, and all that left is her anger, her pain, bursting like a firework but dying too soon; because she knows then, she's cursed.

(her sister leaves her too).


	24. i wanna hold you high and steal your pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow Branwen/Blake Belladonna

when two broken people come together, they don’t fix each other’s wounds by pressing their sharps edges against each other; they’re just two broken people.

they look at each other’s demons and understand the things they cannot conquer, cannot destroy. qrow watches her run from hers, blake sees him drown his own. how can two broken people, unable to kill their demons, stand and expect to do it together?

(they don’t.)

qrow just stands and thinks of those he has lost, blake just stands and thinks of those she has left behind; and maybe they do it side by side, hand in hand; and maybe, this time, that’s enough for once; maybe that is all they can do anymore.


	25. i'm too young to feel this old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> amber autumn/qrow branwen

she’s twenty one and he’s thirty eight; the sky is dark, flecked with silvery stars, and they pass between them a cheap bottle of vodka.

“do you trust me?” he asks after taking a swig, low and husky; all slanted smile and slurred words, but there’s still that ever-present spark of clarity in those crimson eyes.

she pauses, eyes narrowing, “what the fuck do you think?” she finally replies, lips curving - mocking, sure, but not to him, no, to herself, self-deprecating and bitter as always.

“i think you don’t believe me.” his gaze is sharp, and he leans closer, along the rooftop’s railing, and she frowns, brown hues darting between his proximity and his eyes.

“believe what?” she snarls, confused, taking the bait; aggression was second nature to amber, like the ease of her eyes catching alight, all of fall’s power and none of it’s kindness.

he doesn’t answer, and his mouth hovers over hers, she stiffens - she’s seen qrow do this a million times, knows his seductions far too well - and then his lips are on hers, breathing alcohol into each other’s lungs.


	26. this is my winter song to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> winter schnee/roman torchwick

it wasn’t love, no, it was just a professional relationship that bled into the personal a bit too many times; a mistake, or a series of, that was mostly on winter’s part, but that man got under her skin, and then under _her–_

how one could have mistaken this for love is beyond her own comprehension.

he smirks far too often, cracks jokes when he sees fit, and is condescending, parades his intellectual superiority like she isn’t a specialist of the atlas military, like she isn’t a schnee, like she _wasn’t_ the brightest of her graduating year.

he sings.

that was, perhaps, the most surprising revelation of them all, and it wasn’t bad, it was _good_ , a voice that reminded her of her little sister, of their mother and soft winter nights huddling in front of a fireplace, singing the words to atlesian folk songs, their mother's fingers softly pressing the grand piano keys, creating a melody of it's own.

and that is when she slipped up - when she crossed the line between consultant and employee, between the general arresting a criminal mastermind and then using his skills for their army - and allowed him to _kiss_ her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dub this one: saturnalia (cause roman holiday, christmas season/winter solstice stuff, y'know)


	27. take my hand through the flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> amber autumn/qrow branwen

she looks the most peaceful he's ever seen her, and that thought feels entirely wrong in his head.

the amber he's known the past fourteen years is not peaceful; she's angry, vicious, cruel, and entirely a product of her father's abuse, a woman who he's watched over the years become strong, become hardened and merciless, and wield her powers as fall maiden as easily as she breathes. she's the only fall maiden he's ever known, and watching her comatose body, supported by damn atlas tech– it pisses him off and makes him drink more.

another person he's failed, another person he's failed to save.

that's the funny thing: the only person who'd save amber is herself, she made sure of that; stood tall, eyes alight, mouth curled into a grin that was half predator, half embittered, asked to be a protector but never a saviour or a hero, who willingly, grinning, called herself a monster; the same woman who'd call him 'old man', and roll her eyes at him, and accepted his acts of camaraderie; and even still, the young girl, who transformed from quivering and helpless to quietly strong and accepting, who said thank you and looked at their group like they were heroes - once.

qrow stares at the machine, and the rise and fall of her chest; she had been so convinced she was invincible, untouchable before, rising above her wounds and her hurt, insisting on never being beaten down again, to be forever powerful, who stared at him with fire in her eyes and in her veins; and he almost believed her, before, because this twenty three year old girl was broken, but strong because of it, as fucked up as that was – and he had loved her, knowing it to be futile, knowing that trust was all she had left to give... but he loved her still, because she was strong, because she had endured, because she was amber.

 


	28. let there be light, let me be right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun Wukong/Yang Xiao Long

they laugh, and when they do, they are brighter than the _sun_ , consuming and blocking out any other form of light together.

what do you do with two suns, two stars, who burn with _furor_ and vigour and the intensity of white, flaring heat; like pressing the heel of your palm to your eyelids, and awaiting for the blindness to fade?

yang is beautiful and radiant, sun is handsome and luminous. both tall, pale and _golden_ , they converse in a tongue that very few around them understand, one said with energy.

they are _striking_.

they rise again, banishing out the darkness in their lives, they shine; yang turns her back on the old bitter feelings of abandonment, and strives to be kinder, sun refuses to let him being a faunus cause him to be lesser, and goes out of his way to help as many as he can - they are better people together, because they are _already_ better.


	29. when you're standing at the edge of the world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> amber autumn/ozpin

“was it ever my choice?”

she stands at the end of the world, and the world burns around her, exactly how she likes it; it’s a question that she doesn’t care for the answer, but she asks it anyways, because it’s fight or die now, the darkness is about to fall, and every hero has their last goodbyes, their last revelations (amber’s not one, but this body was one).

“yes.”  he answers her, the cane is in his hands, and he looks every bit immortalised as she; with his silver hair, and his all-knowing eyes, and for once, it sounds like the truth, like something she can believe.  “would you have ever chosen otherwise?”

she scoffs, and blinks this body’s green eyes, feels flames coalesce around them; and tips her head back, red hair spilling over the fall maiden’s pale shoulder, and amber grins, all feral and predator and shadows; equal parts bitter, equal parts cruel.

“no."


	30. cause someone must get hurt and it won't be me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blake belladonna/adam taurus

there’s blood on his hands.

blake realized that adam has had blood on his hands for a _very_ long time; she’s just always ignored it, pretended it wasn’t there, covering the stench with sweet smelling roses because the adam of her past, the little boy who had saved an even littler girl, was still there; there because he still looked at her with as much love as she felt for him. 

adam has _never_ hurt her, never laid a finger on her; his touches were of love and passion; gentle caresses and sinful grips; so when he kicks her and stabs her, she knows that this is no longer him. this isn’t even the him that she left behind, the beast that could no longer be separated from the man, because even then, he had kissed her the way that made her heart lurch and clench with familiarity and heartbreak.

but even this shadow of him knows her, the way that no one else does, and possibly never will - because he’s right, she runs.

she _always_ runs. 


	31. so i don’t lose sight of what i want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ozpin/cinder fall

it is only the two of them left, alone in this godsforsaken vault, and yet, all she can do is stare at him, eyes wide with horror. there are no more words left to say, none she can say, and besides, his face says it all, beset behind his glasses; what his expression and brown eyes holds is not rage, neither malice or terror.

what is in them is acceptance - acceptance of his fate, the one person above them all who is so keenly aware of such a thing, and he knows, and that fucking terrifies her. that he knows that only one of them will come out of this confrontation alive, that he knows that now she is much more powerful than him, and now he knows that she is the one who attacked the fall maiden, struck down by her arrow.

so when she unleashes a blast of fiery energy, white hot and unnatural from her fingertips, she’s horrified again as ozpin doesn’t fight back, as he submits himself to this fate, as he lets it consume him in a blaze of fire. 

cinder watches as the man she loves dies and turns to ash. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [inspiration](http://ironqrows.tumblr.com/post/153232166614/sad-ozcinder-thoughts-after-falling-in-love-with)


	32. and i'd do anything to make you stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> weiss schnee/yang xiao long

weiss kisses the stump without flinching.

out of all them, she is the only one who hasn't left her - abandoned her - out of her own volition; dragged back by her asshole of a father, and yang knows she would have stayed if she had a choice. blake abandoned her, her own sister left her behind, but not weiss.

and now, it was yang's turn to stay. they would make it out of atlas one way or another, but it would be together, no matter what; she grasps her snow-white hair, and tugs her forward. she kisses her, desperate yes, but with security and safety.

they would make it, together.


	33. or will you let them tell you who you are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber Autumn/Winter Schnee

winter laughs, clutching her hands tight, as the world spins around them in glorious, blurred daylight. softened by the warmth of the alcohol and her palms, amber joins her with a few giggles.

in this moment, they aren't who they are.

one isn't a schnee, and the loyal soldier in ironwood's army, nor is the other the fall maiden, and the cruel protector of remnant. in this moment, they are just two women, swathed in untouchable joy while the world revolves around them.

(hoping for the moment to never end.)


End file.
